Funding will enable VertexOne to optimize its platform, expand market presence, and support the acquisition of Accelerated Innovations.

MENLO PARK, Calif., Jan. 9, 2025 — Runway Growth Capital LLC (“Runway”), a leading provider of growth loans to both venture and non-venture-backed companies seeking an alternative to raising equity, and BC Partners Credit, today announced a $131 million financing commitment to VertexOne. BC Partners Credit is the $8 billion credit arm of BC Partners, an alternative investment firm with approximately $40 billion AUM.

VertexOne has been a Runway portfolio company since December 2021 and is a leading provider of vertical market software solutions for electric, gas, and water utilities.

The capital will enable VertexOne to refinance existing obligations, acquire Accelerated Innovations (“AI”) for $32.5 million, and invest in platform enhancements to deliver transformative customer engagement solutions.

“VertexOne’s strategic growth trajectory and commitment to innovation have been exemplary,” said Greg Greifeld, Managing Director and Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Runway. “We are excited to provide this capital alongside BC Partners Credit to support VertexOne’s continued success, including their acquisition of Accelerated Innovations.”

As part of the financing, Mr. Greifeld will join VertexOne’s Board of Directors.

“We are grateful for the partnership and investment from Runway and BC Partners Credit,” said Andrew Jornod, President and CEO of VertexOne. “This funding not only strengthens our financial position but also enables us to deliver superior value to our energy and utility clients, empowering them with innovative tools to improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and sustainability outcomes.”

“VertexOne has demonstrated impressive growth and resilience since our initial investment,” said Keith Pennell, Managing Partner at DFW Capital Partners. “This latest financing is a testament to VertexOne’s market leadership and vision. The acquisition of Accelerated Innovations and the deployment of additional capital will significantly enhance VertexOne’s ability to deliver advanced, customer-focused solutions to energy and utility providers. We look forward to VertexOne’s continued success as it expands its market presence.”

The acquisition is expected to strategically position VertexOne to expand its reach in the electric, gas, and water utility markets as well as the electric and gas retail markets. By integrating Accelerated Innovation’s technology, MyMeter, with VertexOne’s existing solutions, the company will be able to offer a comprehensive platform that combines customer information systems with advanced analytics, seamless billing and payment solutions, and real-time customer engagement.

About Runway Growth Capital LLC
Runway Growth Capital LLC is the investment adviser to investment funds, including Runway Growth Finance Corp. (Nasdaq: RWAY), a business development company, and other private funds, which are lenders of growth capital to companies seeking an alternative to raising equity. Led by industry veteran David Spreng, these funds provide senior term loans of a target of $30 million to $150 million to fast-growing companies based in the United States and Canada. For more information on Runway Growth Capital LLC and its platform, please visit www.runwaygrowth.com.

About BC Partners & BC Partners Credit
BC Partners is a leading international investment firm in private equity, private debt, and real estate strategies. BC Partners Credit was launched in February 2017, with a focus on identifying attractive credit opportunities in any market environment, often in complex market segments. The platform leverages the broader firm’s deep industry and operating resources to provide flexible financing solutions to middle-market companies across Business Services, Industrials, Healthcare and other select sectors. For further information, visit www.bcpartners.com/credit-strategy.

About VertexOne
VertexOne is the leading provider of cloud-based SaaS solutions, powering the next generation of customer experience for utilities, energy retailers and energy transition providers. With more than 30 years of experience and 400 customers in the cloud, we capitalize on our deep expertise to provide a wide range of innovative solutions for digital transformation, revenue optimization and data-driven efficiency operations surrounding the customer. We empower our clients to deliver a compelling customer experience, reduce costs to serve, increase operational efficiency and improve customer satisfaction. For more information on how VertexOne allows you to enhance the digital customer experience, improve revenue management and leverage data analytics, visit www.vertexone.net.

About DFW Capital Partners
DFW Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm focused on lower middle-market companies. With over $2 billion under management, the firm concentrates on service companies, with an emphasis on outsourced business and industrial support services, and healthcare companies. DFW has established a 20+ year track record of success in both building companies and generating returns for its investors. DFW is headquartered in New York, New York and maintains an office in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Additional information is available on our website at www.dfwcapital.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance, condition, or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Runway’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Runway undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

SOURCE Runway Growth Capital LLC

HUNTINGTON, N.Y., Jan. 9, 2025 — Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical, a leader in innovative anti-inflammatory care, today announced the submission of a new patent application that introduces a novel composition and method to target obesity and metabolic disorders. The patent focuses on leveraging a synergistic combination of a mast cell stabilizer, H1-antihistamine, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to address chronic low-grade inflammation—the root cause of many metabolic dysfunctions.

Chronic inflammation, often fueled by poor diet, stress, and other lifestyle factors, contributes significantly to conditions like diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. Sen-Jam’s innovative therapeutic strategy aims to modulate inflammatory processes while complementing existing treatments such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, providing additive or even amplified benefits in weight management, reducing insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation reduction.

“Our approach represents a pivotal advancement in treating obesity and metabolic disorders,” said Jackie Iversen, Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical. “By addressing the underlying inflammation without compromising the body’s innate defenses, we aim to create treatments that not only mitigate symptoms but also tackle the root causes of metabolic dysfunction. This could revolutionize therapeutic approaches for millions of patients globally.”

The patent filing outlines how this innovative combination therapy reduces inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and modulates cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6, which are elevated in metabolic disorders. It also highlights the potential for synergistic effects when combined with GLP-1 receptor agonists, leading to improved weight loss, enhanced insulin sensitivity, and reduced cardiovascular risks.

“The interplay between chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders is well-documented, yet treatments often fail to adequately address this critical connection.” Dr. Francis Farraye, Advisory Board Member for Sen-Jam, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, noted that “Sen-Jam’s novel approach demonstrates a promising pathway to target these conditions more comprehensively.”

This latest patent strengthens Sen-Jam’s robust intellectual property portfolio and underscores its commitment to transforming inflammatory care through science-driven innovation. With the potential to impact the estimated $150 billion global market for metabolic and obesity therapeutics, Sen-Jam continues to redefine treatment paradigms for inflammation-driven diseases.

“This patent marks an exciting milestone for Sen-Jam,” added Iversen. “Our innovative platform not only offers hope for those battling metabolic conditions but also represents a transformative step in how the pharmaceutical industry approaches inflammation-related diseases.”

As part of its strategic initiatives, the Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical executive team will attend the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco next week. They will be meeting with investors, co-development partners, and industry leaders to explore opportunities to accelerate the development and commercialization of this groundbreaking therapy. Interested parties are encouraged to reach out to schedule a meeting during the conference. Investor information available at wefunder.com/senjam

About Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical
Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical pioneers a revolutionary approach to inflammatory care through its proprietary PAIR (Pleiotropic Anti-Inflammatory Remedies) technology. PAIR represents a paradigm shift in targeting inflammation at its source, leveraging innovative combination therapies that work with the body’s innate wisdom to restore balance without suppressing the immune system. By addressing chronic low-grade inflammation, Sen-Jam develops transformative solutions for conditions such as obesity, metabolic disorders, and other inflammation-driven diseases.

With a focus on enhancing vitality, extending health spans, and redefining how the world heals, Sen-Jam continues to lead the next evolution of healthcare innovation. The company is dedicated to building partnerships and advancing its pipeline of precision anti-inflammatory therapeutics to meet the unmet needs of patients worldwide.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical
Christine Leonard
[email protected]
781-913-1902

SOURCE Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical

Dark genome biotech company RyboDyn closes pre-seed fundraise from leading global investors to advance cancer immunotherapy

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 9, 2025 — RyboDyn, Inc., has announced the discovery of a new proteome and the successful closing of a $4 million pre-seed financing round to advance its mission of targeting the dark proteome for the development of novel immunotherapies. The round was co-led by Genedant Capital and SeaX Ventures, with significant participation from SOSV and Swell VC as part of the investment syndicate.

Underscoring the urgent need for innovative strategies to overcome cancer, RyboDyn developed a proprietary RNA sequencing technology, RyboCypher™, to enable high-throughput detection of RNA molecules overlooked by existing next-generation sequencing methods. The first datasets generated using the RyboCypher™ sequencing method revealed a hidden or “cryptic” human proteome consisting of thousands of previously undiscovered proteins.

“We knew this class of RNA molecules existed in cells before we developed RyboCypher™ to observe them at high resolution. What we didn’t realize was how much protein is being produced from them,” says Dr. Corey Dambacher, Co-founder and President of RyboDyn and the creator of the RyboCypher™ sequencing method. “Our initial experiments allowed us to identify over 8,000 undiscovered fragments of proteins called peptides, on the surface of cells, and about 1,000 of these appear to be specific to cancer cells. We now have a scalable way to find and validate these peptides for making new immunotherapies.” 

According to the central dogma of molecular biology, DNA is transcribed into RNA, which is then translated into proteins. However, only about 2% of the genome encodes for proteins, while the remaining 98% consists of non-coding regions once dismissed as “junk” DNA or the “dark” genome. RyboDyn’s groundbreaking discovery reveals that some of these non-coding regions can indeed encode proteins, which play pivotal roles in diseases such as cancer.

“RyboDyn came to us with a major breakthrough in target discovery,” says August Lee, Principal at Genedant Capital and a lead investor in RyboDyn. “We got really excited when we understood just how scalable and widely applicable their target discovery and validation approach is across many different diseases. RyboDyn’s novel approach has significant potential to unlock the next developmental leap in therapeutics,” added Lee.

Notably, many of the newly discovered proteins are exclusively expressed on cancer cells and are absent in healthy tissue, making them ideal targets for cancer immunotherapy. The novel proteins are further triaged through RyboDyn’s proprietary computational pipeline, which prioritizes cancer-specific druggable peptides located on the cell surface—designated as Dark Targets™.

“What sets RyboDyn apart from other dark genome startups is their novel method for visualizing a dark proteome that others can’t see” said Po Bronson, General Partner at venture fund SOSV and Managing Director of IndieBio SF, an SOSV deep tech program in San Francisco. “Some of the proteins they’ve discovered appear to be conserved across multiple cancer types, which excites us because it holds the potential to help more patients and significantly expand the addressable market.”

The discovery of this novel proteome was first made by Dr. Dambacher and RyboDyn Co-founder Ashley Woodfin while at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute. This groundbreaking finding was independently validated on cell surfaces by Dr. Alex Jaeger, RyboDyn advisor and academic Co-founder, at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, a leading authority in cancer immunotherapy.

“When Alex independently confirmed our discovery on cell surfaces, it gave us tremendous confidence that we were on the right track,” adds Dr. Imad Ajjawi, CEO and Co-founder of RyboDyn. “We immediately recognized the therapeutic potential of our Dark Targets™, which could enable the development of entirely new first-in-class cancer therapies.”

While the initial focus is on advancing cancer immunotherapies, the RyboDyn team believes the newly discovered dark proteome has the potential to address a wide range of diseases, including immunology and neurology where long-term therapeutic solutions for these debilitating conditions are currently lacking.  

“Discovering such a vast set of previously uncharacterized proteins from the dark proteome is exceptionally rare. These novel proteins offer untapped potential for therapeutic discovery and position RyboDyn as a leader in developing first-in-class cancer immunotherapies,” says Dr. Kid Parchariyanon, Founder and Managing Partner at SeaX Ventures, who co-led the funding round with Genedant Capital. “At SeaX, we’re focused on identifying companies that have the potential to disrupt entire industries. With our extensive networks in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, we are eager to help RyboDyn explore strategic opportunities and navigate this rapidly growing market to unlock additional value in the region.”

In addition to its groundbreaking target discovery capabilities with RyboCypher™, RyboDyn has licensed the patent rights to three additional OHSU technologies. These patent rights encompass innovative methods for single-cell functional drug profiling and spatial biology applications designed to enhance patient stratification. By leveraging this proprietary IP portfolio, RyboDyn is driving the development of cutting-edge biologics both internally and through strategic partnerships.

The new funding will drive RyboDyn’s efforts to expand target discovery and accelerate drug development. By collaborating with leading academic institutions and biopharma partners, the company is advancing conserved targets with broad therapeutic potential. “Our goal is to build a premier pipeline of first-in-class, next-generation immunotherapies, developed both internally and in partnership with large pharmaceutical companies,” said Dr. Ajjawi.

“The timing is perfect,” added Rusty Ralston, Managing Partner at Swell VC. “The dark genome space is heating up, and RyboDyn has the right team and approach to make a significant impact on patients’ lives.”

About RyboDyn

RyboDyn, Inc., based in San Diego, CA, is a biotechnology company pioneering the development of first-in-class immunotherapies targeting the dark genome. By leveraging RyboCypher™, a proprietary sequencing method and advanced bioinformatics platform, RyboDyn is uncovering and validating previously unknown proteins and disease-specific targets. With its scalable, in-house platform for lead discovery and optimization and proprietary IP licensed from Oregon Health & Science University, RyboDyn is driving a unique “targets-to-assets” approach to therapeutic development. The company collaborates with leading clinical and academic institutions as well as biopharma partners to validate and advance its drug pipeline, focusing on transformative solutions for cancer and other diseases with unmet medical needs. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.rybodyn.com.

About Genedant Capital

Genedant Capital is a Singapore-based multi asset manager whose investors include family offices and high net worth individuals. Genedant’s private equity and venture capital practice invests in opportunities across various stages of growth, spanning domain applications across the Bio-Revolution, Advanced Manufacturing and Frontier Technologies. Leveraging a network of high technical expertise, Genedant invests in and supports portfolio companies globally, especially through an Asian expansion angle. More information is available at https://www.genedant.com/.

About SeaX Ventures

SeaX Ventures is a global venture capital firm dedicated to investing in deep-tech startups that are shaping the future through groundbreaking innovations. With a mission to empower entrepreneurs building exponential technologies, SeaX Ventures focuses on sectors with high potential to drive 1% GDP growth and reduce 1% of Global Carbon Emissions within the next decade. SeaX delivers unique access to a highly selective group of innovative companies from around the globe. SeaX leverages its relationship with over 500+ listed companies, MNCs, and huge family businesses in Southeast Asia to explore business opportunities together with portfolio companies.

For more information, visit https://seaxventures.vc

Press contact: [email protected]

About SOSV

SOSV is a multi-stage, deep tech venture investor committed to human and planetary health, and invests from a startup’s inception, the “First Check in Deep Tech®.”  SOSV operates the deeply resourced startup development programs in New York City and San Francisco (IndieBio) and Newark, NJ (HAX) equipped with labs for bio-safety, chem, food, EE, analytics and mechatronics.  The SOSV ecosystem spans the globe, with 800+ startups operating in 40 countries.

About Swell VC

Swell VC is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm focused on category-defining opportunities in high-growth sectors like B2B infrastructure, AI, space, healthcare, commerce, and defense. The firm focuses on backing founders with a commercial mindset, exceptional intellectual horsepower, and an obsessive drive to solve massive problems. With a deep understanding of talent dynamics and an unwavering commitment to supporting founders, Swell VC has built a reputation for driving portfolio success through strategic recruiting, follow-on fundraising, and industry-leading partnerships. Learn more at swell.vc.

SOURCE RyboDyn

Fund V demonstrates The Vistria Group’s standing as one of the most in-demand and fastest growing private investment firms in the middle market

CHICAGO, Jan. 9, 2025 — The Vistria Group, LP (“Vistria”), a middle market private investment firm that seeks to deliver both superior financial returns and meaningful societal impact, announced that it had successfully completed the final closing of Vistria Fund V, LP (“Fund V”), its largest private equity fund to date with $3 billion of total capital commitments. Vistria now manages almost $16 billion across its funds and co-investment vehicles, more than doubling its AUM in a little over three years.

Consistent with Vistria’s original strategy and with predecessor funds, Fund V will seek to invest in U.S.-based healthcare, knowledge & learning solutions and financial services companies that benefit from the firm’s deep network, operating expertise and trusted partnerships.

“The support from our existing limited partners and interest we received from new limited partners from around the world for Fund V underscore the strong confidence in our investment philosophy: focusing on industries that help our society become healthy, wealthy, and wise,” said Kip Kirkpatrick, Co-CEO and Senior Partner at The Vistria Group. “Our success is a testament to our team’s differentiated ability to look deeper across each of our targeted industries from three dimensions: operational, investment and policy perspectives. Our ability to see investment opportunities in these three dimensions remains a core reason why management teams continue to partner with us.” 

“For the past decade, our mission to drive outsized returns while also driving meaningful societal impact has set us apart,” said Martin Nesbitt, Co-CEO and Senior Partner. “As we look ahead, we are excited to build upon our existing strong leadership team as we remain steadfast to our consistent and disciplined approach to long-term value creation.”

Vistria’s predecessor fund, Vistria Fund IV, LP (“Fund IV”), closed at $2.68 billion in 2021, more than twice the size of the $1.1 billion Vistria Fund III, LP. Since closing Fund IV, Vistria has added credit and real estate strategies consistent with its original mission.

Serving as one of the middle market’s fastest growing private equity firms, Vistria holds investments in 39 portfolio companies and employs over 100 team members throughout multiple offices across the United States.  

About The Vistria Group
The Vistria Group is building a new kind of private investment firm that seeks to deliver both financial returns and societal impact. It invests in essential industries like healthcare, knowledge & learning solutions, financial services and housing that deliver value for investors as well as communities, employees, and consumers. With almost $16 billion in AUM, The Vistria Group looks deeper by working as a true partner, drawing on its deep sector knowledge, operational expertise, unique network, diverse team, and impact orientation to achieve transformational growth. For more information, please visit www.vistria.com.

Media Contact:
[email protected]

SOURCE The Vistria Group

Company focused on editing the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) to transform autoimmunity

Lead program, RG0401, in development for treatment-resistant or refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a one-time, curative treatment

AURORA, Colo., Jan. 9, 2025 — RheumaGen, Inc., a cell and gene therapy company engineering a new class of therapeutics for major autoimmune diseases, announced today the close of a $15 million Series A financing co-led by SPRIM Global Investments and William Taylor Nominees. The financing will support RheumaGen in completing a Phase I clinical trial of its lead program, RG0401, for treatment-resistant or refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

“We founded RheumaGen to relieve the burden that individuals suffering from autoimmune diseases have carried for so long. We are not interested in incremental improvements. We seek cures and remission,” said Richard Freed, CEO & Co-Founder of RheumaGen. “This financing will enable us to advance our clinical programs and move closer to fulfilling RheumaGen’s vision to cure patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. We are grateful to our investors who share our vision and values, as we work to advance a pipeline of life-changing treatments for autoimmunity.”

“RheumaGen’s approach is exciting because it holds the potential for a single intervention to permanently alter the course of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis,” said Prof. George Schett, M.D., Vice President of Research and Head of the Department of Internal Medicine 3 at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and member of RheumaGen’s Scientific Advisory Board. “This way of thinking could be very disruptive in the market, because it solves a critical unmet need, particularly for those treatment-resistant patients who are suffering the most.”

RheumaGen is developing a breakthrough class of cell and gene therapies designed to cure autoimmune diseases at their source. The company is focused on editing the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), or “immune gene,” so that the immune system does not attack healthy cells. The company was co-founded by Dr. Brian Freed, the company’s Chief Science Officer, who is a professor of medicine and immunology at the University of

Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, and who founded CU Anschutz’s ClinImmune, one of the largest nonprofit clinical laboratories in the U.S.

“We are thrilled to have co-led this financing alongside this strong group of experienced investors,” said Tassos Konstantinou, Managing Director, Life Sciences, at SPRIM Global Investments. “We are confident in RheumaGen’s future growth, powered by their promising CGT technology and decades of immunology, histocompatibility and clinical expertise across the team, and we look forward to supporting the company as they advance their pipeline.”

RG0401 and Clinical Programs

RG0401, RheumaGen’s lead program, targets 10-20% of RA patients who are refractory or treatment-resistant and suffer substantial unmet need. The company is currently conducting RG0401 IND-enabling studies and plans to begin the Phase I clinical trial in 2026. RG0401 aims to cure refractory RA by treating its HLA source. With a precision edit to a DNA marker(s) of the HLA gene, RG0401 is designed only to make a patient’s HLA molecules mirror those of a person resistant to RA, while maintaining the rest of the immune system as normal. This therapy changes harmful HLA alleles to healthy ones and prevents T cells from activating chronic autoimmune responses, thereby halting not only cell and tissue degradation but also the entire disease process with this approach.

“Treatment-resistant RA patients are suffering terribly,” said Dr. Freed. “We believe that if we reach these patients early enough – with our intended one-time, curative treatment – then we can halt the disease and prevent years of accumulated damage to the body. The real potential of HLA gene-editing in RA and across autoimmunity is extraordinary.”

RheumaGen is building a pipeline of treatments to address autoimmune diseases in which HLA alleles play a critical epidemiological role, including programs for multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and ankylosing spondylitis currently in development.

About RheumaGen, Inc.

RheumaGen is a private biotechnology company engineering a new class of therapeutics to cure major autoimmune diseases. RheumaGen focuses on editing the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), or “immune gene,” to develop one-time, curative cell and gene therapies. RheumaGen is headquartered in Aurora, Colorado. For more information, please visit rheumagen.com.

Contacts:

Media & Investor Relations
Sarah Sutton/Maghan Meyers
Argot Partners
212-600-1902
[email protected]

SOURCE RheumaGen, Inc.

Led by Deerfield Management and CVS Health Ventures, funding round to facilitate growth in new states, including California, Florida, Pennsylvania

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 8, 2025 — Nema Health, the leading solution for virtual trauma and PTSD care, today announced its $14.5 million Series A funding round led by Deerfield Management, an investment firm dedicated to advancing healthcare through information, investment, and philanthropy, alongside new participant CVS Health Ventures, CVS Health’s venture capital arm. Nema’s existing investors, Optum Ventures, .406 Ventures, and GreyMatter, also participated, rounding out a team of dedicated investors and board members to propel forward the company’s mission to enable long-lasting healing & peace for all trauma survivors.

“80% of people will endure trauma in their lifetimes – from domestic and sexual violence to child abuse, gun violence, car accidents, war, climate disasters and pregnancy loss – and 20% will go on to develop PTSD,” said Dr. Sofia Noori, Co-founder and CEO of Nema Health. “We’ve built Nema to bring evidence-based treatment and rapid relief to trauma survivors – helping them regain strength, find long-term healing, and build big, joyful lives.”

Nema, which is physician- and survivor-led, has designed a virtual treatment program based in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), the most effective care for PTSD. Nema’s therapy model is peer-led, meaning that other trauma survivors are there with patients from their very first interaction all the way through to their recovery. Nema’s clinical approach teaches individuals how to challenge and modify their belief systems related to how they see their trauma, themselves, and the world. The most powerful part of Nema’s treatment is its ability to provide rapid relief: after completing just 4-6 weeks of Nema’s intensive PTSD care, 91% of patients experience clinical improvement and 82% no longer meet criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD. Nema’s clinical model helps patients learn how to rebuild their relationships, intimacy, and trust in themselves and others — the cornerstones of healing after trauma.

“While innovation from the health tech industry has flooded into other areas of behavioral health, PTSD has remained largely untouched,” said Dr. Julian Harris, Operating Partner at Deerfield. “But Dr. Noori and the team at Nema have taught us that PTSD does not have to be a debilitating, lifelong illness – it can be treated effectively, enabling patients to begin a new chapter in their lives. Nema’s accessible virtual treatment model and team of clinicians makes healing possible for the more than 13 million Americans struggling with PTSD today.”

As part of its continued expansion, Nema has launched its model in eight states since its 2023 launch – New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Illinois – with plans to expand to many more states this year. Nema is in-network with multiple national and regional health plans and is devoted to partnering rapidly with more health plans to improve affordability for its treatment for trauma survivors of all walks of life. The Series A investment will allow Nema to continue to expand its treatment across markets, broaden insurance coverage, and continue deepening its care offerings to solidify its position as the country’s leading trauma care company.

About Nema Health
Survivor and clinician-led, Nema Health delivers evidence-based, virtual PTSD treatment to help trauma survivors find lasting peace and healing. Nema is in-network with several major commercial insurance plans and currently offers treatment in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Illinois.

SOURCE Nema Health

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 8, 2025 — Qualified Health today announced its launch with $30 million in seed funding to develop the infrastructure for generative AI in healthcare. The major investors are SignalFire, Healthier Capital, Town Hall Ventures, and Frist Cressey Ventures, along with participation from Intermountain Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, and prominent healthcare and technology sector angels.

“Healthcare stands at a pivotal moment, our providers are overwhelmed, our costs are increasing, and we must make a change,” said Justin Norden, MD, Co-Founder and CEO of Qualified Health. “This strong backing from leading healthcare-technology investors and health systems validates our approach to bridging the gap between Generative AI’s potential and healthcare’s need for reliability, transparency, and safety.”

The company’s technology solution provides healthcare organizations with comprehensive infrastructure to implement and scale generative AI solutions safely. Key features include:

• Enforceable Governance: Role-based access controls, risk alerts, data privacy protections, and safeguards against AI hallucinations
• Healthcare Agent Creation: Infrastructure enabling healthcare teams to rapidly develop and deploy AI agents for workflow automation
• Post-Deployment Monitoring: Complete observability of application performance and usage, with human-in-the-loop evaluation and escalation systems

“While other industries have seen transformative benefits from generative AI, healthcare adoption has been cautious due to justified concerns about safety and reliability,” said Qualified Health board member Sooah Cho from SignalFire. “Qualified Health’s infrastructure creates the foundation of trust necessary for healthcare organizations to confidently deploy these powerful tools.”

“What sets Qualified Health apart is their unique approach to healthcare AI governance,” said Navid Farzad of Frist Cressey Ventures. “Their platform enables health systems to maintain control while accelerating innovation – a crucial balance that the industry has been seeking.”

The company brings together an experienced founding team with backgrounds spanning healthcare delivery, AI development, and quality improvement:

• Justin Norden, MD, MBA (CEO/Co-founder): Stanford Medicine faculty member and former CEO/Co-founder of Trustworthy AI (acquired by Waymo/Google)
• Shantanu Phatakwala: (CCO/Co-founder): Former Chief Data Science Officer at Haven (Amazon/JP Morgan Chase/Berkshire Hathaway venture)
• Beau Norgeot, PhD (CAIO/Co-founder): Former VP of AI at Elevance and Chief AI Officer at Lucid Lane
• Nirav R. Shah, MD, MPH (Co-founder): Stanford Medicine faculty member and Former COO of Kaiser Permanente SoCal and NY State Health Commissioner
• Kedar Mate, MD (CMO/Co-founder): Former President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)

Notable angel investors include Frank Williams (former CEO/Founder of Evolent), Justin Kan (former CEO/Founder of Twitch), Bill Veghte (former EVP Microsoft, EVP Hewlett Packard), Varsha Rao (former CEO of Nurx), and more.

“The caliber of talent Qualified Health has assembled is extraordinary,” noted Meera Mani, MD from Town Hall Ventures. “This team brings together decades of healthcare transformation experience with deep technical expertise in AI – exactly what’s needed to solve one of healthcare’s most complex challenges.”

“We’re at the beginning of a fundamental shift in how healthcare is delivered,” added Amir Dan Rubin from Healthier Capital. “Qualified Health is uniquely positioned to become the cornerstone that enables safe, effective AI deployment across the entire healthcare ecosystem. The opportunity ahead is immense.”

About Qualified Health:

Qualified Health is a public benefit corporation providing the infrastructure for generative AI in healthcare. Through its comprehensive platform, deep healthcare expertise, and commitment to provider partnerships, Qualified Health enables healthcare organizations to unlock the value of generative AI responsibly. For more information, visit www.qualifiedhealthai.com.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Qualified Health PBC

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 8, 2025 — Relief Cardiovascular, an inQB8 Medical Technologies portfolio company pioneering innovative solutions for the management of heart failure, today announced the closing of a $12M Series A financing. The funding round was co-led by Broadview Ventures and Advent Life Sciences, with participation from Pacific Health Investment, Heartwork Capital, and an undisclosed multinational strategic. The funds will support further product development and the initiation of the company’s first-in-human feasibility study, designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Relief System – a transcatheter smart implant designed to monitor and modulate renal vein pressures, offering a novel approach to fluid management in heart failure.

As part of the financing, Shahzad Malik, MD, General Partner at Advent Life Sciences, and Maria Berkman, MD, Head of Medtech at Broadview Ventures, will join the company’s Board of Directors.

“Heart failure continues to impose a tremendous burden on patients and healthcare systems,” said Maria Berkman, MD. “The Relief System addresses a critical gap in patient care, and we are proud to partner with the team at Relief Cardiovascular to advance this novel therapy into the clinic.”

“Relief Cardiovascular’s innovative approach to volume management tackles the unmet needs of diuretic-resistant heart failure,” said Shahzad Malik, MD. “The Relief System’s ability to dynamically modulate renal vein pressures offers the potential to redefine treatment and improve outcomes for patients facing limited options.”

The Relief System employs a transcatheter implant to reduce renal vein pressure using an innovative “puller” mechanism, paired with integrated sensors that autonomously capture renal vein pressures and multiparametric data. The system provides physicians with actionable data for optimizing fluid management and offers tailored therapeutic device-driven intervention.

“The Relief System’s ability to integrate monitoring and therapeutic modulation of renal pressures represents a promising advance in volume management in heart failure,” said William T. Abraham, MD, Professor of Medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Alex Rothman, MD, Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sheffield, added, “By enabling data-driven adjustments, the Relief System empowers more personalized and effective care for patients, particularly those with diuretic resistance.”

“This financing marks a pivotal milestone for us as we advance the Relief System into human clinical studies,” said Alex Cooper, CEO of Relief Cardiovascular. “We’re honored to have the support of world-class investors and clinicians, along with industry veterans like Michael Minogue. With Shahzad and Maria joining our board, our team is positioned to transform the management and treatment of heart failure.”

About Relief Cardiovascular
Relief Cardiovascular is a privately held medical device company committed to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure. The company’s flagship technology, the Relief System, is a transcatheter smart implant designed to enhance fluid management and improve quality of life for heart failure patients. Relief Cardiovascular was founded and incubated within inQB8 Medical Technologies, LLC.

About Broadview Ventures
Broadview Ventures is a mission-driven investment organization that makes targeted investments in early-stage companies to accelerate the development of innovative therapeutics, devices, and diagnostics for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Broadview is funded by the Leducq Charitable Trust. For more information, please visit www.broadviewventures.org

About Advent Life Sciences
Advent Life Sciences founds and invests in early- and mid-stage life sciences companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach to unmet medical needs. The investing team consists of experienced professionals, each with extensive scientific, medical and operational experience, a long-standing record of entrepreneurial and investment success in the US and Europe and is particularly focused on supporting entrepreneurs and founders to take innovative new medical entities from concept to approval. The firm invests in a range of sectors within life sciences, principally drug discovery, enabling technologies and med tech, always with an emphasis on innovative, paradigm-changing approaches. Advent Life Sciences has a presence in the UK, US and France. For more information, please visit www.Adventls.com

About inQB8 Medical Technologies

inQB8 Medical Technologies is a privately held medical device incubator based in Massachusetts, co-founded by Dr. Arshad Quadri, MD, and J. Brent Ratz, MBA. inQB8 specializes in developing cutting-edge interventional solutions for major cardiovascular diseases, accelerating projects through prototyping, bench, and pre-clinical testing.

For inquiries, contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Relief Cardiovascular

The firm’s fifth fund focuses on taking advantage of the unprecedented growth in sports and entertainment worldwide

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8, 2025 — Scrum Ventures, a San Francisco and Tokyo-based early-stage venture capital firm, today announced the closing of its first vertically focused tech fund, Scrum Sports & Entertainment Fund I (SSE). The new fund, which closed at $68 million, invests in technology companies that support the growth of the sports and entertainment sector but also transcend the vertical and address market inefficiencies in other industries.

SSE’s investment strategy centers around several key megatrends that are shaping the future of sports and entertainment:

• Unprecedented Growth: The sports and entertainment industries are experiencing remarkable expansion worldwide, presenting unparalleled opportunities for innovative startups. PwC noted the global market is projected to reach $680 billion by 2028.
• Globalization of Sports: Sports are transcending geographical boundaries, creating a truly global market with immense potential for companies capable of catering to a diverse and interconnected audience.

“The sports and entertainment sectors are experiencing explosive global growth, and we see tremendous potential for technological innovation to disrupt and enhance these industries, said Tak Miyata, founder and general partner of Scrum Ventures. “Japan, in particular, is a market ripe with opportunity, and we’re uniquely positioned to leverage our deep connections and expertise to help our portfolio companies expand.”

SSE has already established a strong foothold in the sports and entertainment sectors, having made strategic investments in 16 promising companies, including;

• Fever:  a live-entertainment discovery tech platform aiming to make culture and entertainment more accessible.
• TMRW Sports: an operator of a sports media and technology platform intended to bring golf and other related sports services to customers.
• Campus Ink: a merchandising platform designed specifically for students and athletes.
• Ozlo Sleep: a science-driven sleep and audio technology company that simplifies sleep rituals without the use of medication.
• Bandit Running: a retail apparel company offering sports and athleisure apparel for men and women.
• Volo Sports:  a social and recreational sports organization offering access to a range of activities, and virtual events for young adults.
• Misapplied Sciences: a developer of a parallel reality technology that allows viewers to share a digital display and see something different

These early investments underscore Scrum Ventures’ commitment to identifying and supporting future leaders in these dynamic industries.

The fund is run by two seasoned industry veterans Kazuhiro Kiyoshige and Michael Proman. Kiyoshige brings over two decades of experience in the sports and entertainment sectors, having honed his skills at Dentsu, where he specialized in international sports marketing and broadcasting rights. Proman complements Kiyoshige’s expertise with his extensive background in global marketing and development, having held key positions at Coca-Cola and the National Basketball Association before founding and successfully exiting his own startup, OptionIt.

The new fund’s limited partners include prominent Japanese corporations, including SBI Group, Oriental Land Innovations Co., Ltd., QR Investment Co., Ltd. Hokkoku Financial Holdings Group), KOEI TECMO  Group JAPANET HOLDINGS Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS INC., TV Asahi Holdings Corporation, TOHO Global Inc., Nippon Television Holdings, Inc., HISA KINZOKU KOGYO., LTD, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited, MUFG Bank, Ltd., WOWOW Inc. as well as other business companies, financial institutions, individual investors, etc.

About Scrum Ventures
Founded in 2013, Scrum Ventures has been helping launch and grow innovative startups with an eye toward expanding into Japan and beyond. Its unique venture model serves as an innovation gateway between the United States and Japan, helping to connect founders to the world’s most iconic brands, customers, and technologies to expedite growth and create category-leading businesses.

Contact:
Mary Magnani
CodePR
[email protected]

SOURCE Scrum Ventures